When a mild, small shingles outbreak (8-10 square inches) is preceded by a few days of numbness that covers the affected area, what are the expectations for normal feeling to return after the shingles lesions have run their course?
One reference refers to long term pain, but not to post-blister numbness.
This reference also mentions numbness as a pre-blister symptom.
There is a lot on the net about shingles, but the post-blister recovery information focuses on pain rather than numbness. Given a choice, most people would rather numbness than pain, but given the mechanism of infection by herpes zoster, I am curious about reasonable expectations for nerves returning to normal function.
How long should one expect the numbness to last?